Thousands of demonstrators will to take to the streets of London on Saturday afternoon to demand Mayor Boris Johnson deliver solutions to the capital’s deepening housing crisis.

The March for Homes is a
movement backed by various campaign groups, and draws together
those opposed to government housing policies, which they say have
driven rents to unaffordable levels, undermined social housing
and caused a massive increase in homelessness.

One contingent of protesters will assemble at Elephant and Castle
in south London, while another sets out from Shoreditch in the
East End. Both will convene at City Hall to rally for fairer
housing.

The East London leg will be led by community housing campaigners
from Focus E15 and New Era, who made headlines in October 2014
after young mothers occupied empty social housing in the area.

The march is also backed by tenant associations, trade unions and
housing campaigns, London MPs and London Assembly members. Defend
Council Housing, South London People’s Assembly, Unite Housing
Workers and the Trade Unionist a Socialist Coalition (TUSC) have
been actively building for the demo.

Nancy Taaffe, TUSC prospective parliamentary candidate for
Walthamstow, said: “Years of sell-offs, under-investment and
welfare cuts have created a perfect storm, particularly for young
people. We need to direct this storm to the door of the
establishment which created the problem.

“In the Labour years, the model used for housing was a form
of 'Private Finance Initiative' (PFI). Lease deals forged an
alliance of building firms, housing associations and public
bodies such as schools, hospitals and libraries.

“Public land was given to profit-making private interests in
exchange for being allowed to rent back a slice of public space.
It's privatization by another name.”

Campaigners are demanding a cut in rent and an end to attacks on
benefits, and secure tenancies for all renters. They also want to
halt the demolition of good-quality council homes, and urge the
construction of new council properties.

They argue the housing
crisis has been exacerbated by stagnating wages and the
proliferation of insecure jobs and zero-hour contracts.

Eileen Short, national Chair of Defend Council Housing, said the
need to find a solution to the housing crisis was urgent.

“We are taking to the street to show the united demand for
urgent action. Tenants from all tenures, public and private,
campaigns and trade unions are determined to organize together to
resist evictions.”

“The growing housing movement will not swallow hollow
promises and more empty luxury housing. The London Mayor and
councils must act now to control rents and invest in council
housing,” she added.

Exploitative landlords are also seen to be a large part of
the problem, with the group accusing them of charging
“exorbitant” rates.

Alastair Stephens, of the People’s Assembly, said the public were
in favor of greater rent control.

“Polls show that most people support rent controls, greater
regulation of the private rented sector and a return to the mass
building of council housing. Only these actions will solve the
housing crisis.”

The march is also counting on the support of left-leaning Labour
MPs Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.